Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:19 NLT
“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:14 NIV
“Name it; claim it.” “Blab it; grab it…” Is that what these verses are saying? What do these verses really mean? Through all my years of living this life with Christ, I cannot think of anything that has tripped me up more than these verses. I grew up believing that faith meant that if I wanted something badly enough, and believed strongly enough, that it would happen when I prayed; I could have whatever struck my fancy! I thought that if I used the magical phrase, “In the Name of Jesus,” whatever I claimed or declared would simply happen. I just had to have enough faith.
Do you know where that left me? I became disillusioned and angry at God when my prayers were not answered the way I expected. I lost faith in His Word and in Him for a time. Too often, I had prayed so earnestly for what I thought I needed, and I did not see the answer for which I had hoped. I seemed to have had so many unanswered prayers that I began to wonder what the use in praying was. I had heard wise teaching about God giving us just what we need and at just the right time, but that did not seem to correlate with these verses. I just could not make sense of it, so I began to reject it.
Did I have some growing up to do!
Thankfully, the Lord is so patient with us when we just don’t get it! He lovingly took me down a path of understanding and learning to trust Him.
Let me tell you about the moment I first began to understand the truth about these verses just a little better, and then we will dissect these verses and their contexts together very carefully to better understand what they are really saying.
When I was expecting my third child, I had begun to see signs of miscarriage in my 11th week. Of course, I began claiming healing and asking in faith, believing God to prevent this from happening. I had already fallen in love with this child, and I believed that if I claimed His promises with enough faith, I would be healed. I had friends with me who held my hands and agreed with me in prayer. We prayed with such boldness and determination, and my faith was rock solid! How many times had God said we are healed by our faith? Didn’t faith mean that if I believe hard enough that He would do it, not just can, but will do it, I would certainly be healed? Well, that is not the way it happened.
I heard an inner voice speak to my heart that said, “I am not going to stop this miscarriage. Rather, I am going to be with you through this and comfort you with my amazing peace, peace beyond anything you have never known. I will carry you and teach you some things about myself. You are about to learn how to trust me and what faith is really about.” Immediately, I was overcome with such a sense of well-being that I had never experienced. On the way to the hospital, I felt like I was being carried by the Holy Spirit Himself, right there comforting my heart and giving me the strength I needed to face this trial.
In time, I was able to look back at the weeks that followed as one of my deepest periods of spiritual growth and intimacy with God in my life. I realized that in so many ways, God had given me something far greater than for what I had asked. I would never trade the intimacy I now have with Him for anything!
In His perfect way, He eventually did answer my prayer too, yet at a different time, and in a different way than I had expected. His precious gift to me was so much better than my original prayer! He restored the loss I had experienced with the child by later giving me the most wonderful daughter in the whole world, Natalie. She was my answer to that prayer I had prayed a few years before, and her life is such a blessing to me! Thank you, Lord!
God’s answer to my prayer! This is me with my daughter, Natalie.
One thing I learned is that when God does not answer our prayers in the way we expect, it is always because He has something better. It may not be what we want at the time, but we can certainly trust that His will is always for our best. He loves to lavish good gifts on us, but that may not always be in conjunction with what we think is best.
I have had many other times of seemingly unanswered prayers since then, but my attitude has been different. Some of the circumstances I endured due to my prayers not being answered as I had asked almost took me under, but I began to trust that God has a plan, and that His plan is best for me. Yes, I did have some hissy fits and shouted at God a few times. My faith has wavered in those moments as well, and I succumbed to bouts of major depression for not trusting. However, I always looked back on what He taught me during the miscarriage and had an attitude adjustment. I learned to praise, thank, and trust Him no matter how it looked.
Through each trial, I could see my faith getting stronger, my relationship with God becoming deeper, and my heart softening to become more like His. I grew in wisdom through all of these trials and learned that every single time that God did not answer my prayers my way, His answers were ALWAYS much better than mine. ALWAYS!
So, how does that reconcile these Scriptures?
Are they lies, or did I just not understand them? One thing I have learned is that when God does not act in a way that we expect, we are always the ones in error in our understanding, not Him. He is never the one who fails or makes mistakes. Scripture is always accurate, and we can always count on it. What we often need to do is to adjust our understanding so that we are in line with His Spirit and the intended meaning of his Word. Often, all it takes is to study the context of the verses we may have misinterpreted, and to ask the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes and clarify the meaning to us.
For example, in the passage above from Mark 11:22-24, what we do not see in the next verse is that we must first forgive anyone to whom we hold a grudge. How many times have we asked God for something but were harboring bitterness in our souls toward someone? Unforgiveness is certainly one thing that can hinder our prayers.
Also, Jesus talks extensively about authority later on in the chapter. The Pharisees were trying to trap Him when asking about His authority. However, one thing I see is that when we pray and believe, the only way our request can be granted is by the authority of Christ. However, authority must depend upon praying according to the will of the one who grants the authority. When we pray outside of His best for us, we are usurping His authority and we therefore cannot expect to receive our request. However, we will receive exactly what we ask when we pray according to his will and under His authority. When we pray amiss, one thing we can be sure of is that He will take over and give us much better than what we ask. It’s a win-win proposition! Therefore, we have nothing to worry about or to risk by trusting this verse in its entire meaning and purpose. He will give us what we ask for, as He said, just in accordance to His conditions.
Matthew 18:19, is a little tougher for me to dissect, but again let us look at the context. Jesus is talking just before that verse about correcting and reconciling believers when they are caught in sin. He emphasized unity and agreement in this process, as well as the authority of the church. He then talks about His presence being there when two or more are in agreement. When the presence of the Holy Spirit is among us as we pray prayers of agreement with other believers, we know that our prayers are being led by the Spirit. When we pray in agreement with His will, we will certainly receive that which we have asked. However, if there is any mistake, we can trust that God will handle it in a better way than what we asked. Again, there is no risk in putting our full faith in Him. He will come through!
The final concept I had to learn was about praying in Jesus’ name, such as proclaimed in John 14:14. I had such a mistaken understanding about what that meant. It is not a magical phrase we stamp at the end of our prayer to ensure that we will get what we want. To do anything in someone’s name means that you represent that person, all of who that person is – their nature, their character, their desires, their authority, etc. When we pray in the name of Jesus, that means that we are praying according to His plan and will. Our prayers, therefore, are only truly prayed in His name when they represent Him and all of who He is. When we do not receive something that we prayed using His name, it is simply that we did not pray according to His will, and it was not truly in His name. However, when we pray under the authority of His name, and it is in agreement with His will, there is nothing that can stop it from coming to pass! Therefore, we can trust this verse as well!
Of course, I do not want to scare anyone away from praying, or to be afraid of praying outside of God’s will. On the contrary, I still urge you to pray boldly and believe for big things in your life. However, test your motives for what you are praying and compare it to Scripture. If it is in line with his will, you WILL receive it. If it is not, you will receive something better. You have nothing to lose, so pray on, my friends!
Here are some awesome Scriptures I have analyzed to help us come to grips about receiving from Him, and not receiving from Him. Our faith can still be unshakable no matter how things happen or how they appear to be. God’s Word is certainly trustworthy, and we can bank on these truths!
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 NIV
That does not mean that we can hope hard enough for anything we want and expect it. However, we can trust and have confidence that God will work things out in His perfect way, even if we cannot see how. We may not be able to see the provision, but we can be sure that God will see us through. We cannot see how our situation can possibly be a part of God’s plan for our life, but we can have faith that He will work it out for our good and that He will use it for His glory. We may not see how this painful situation can happen to us, or how it can possibly ever be resolved, but we have faith that we will ultimately have victory through Him. That is what this verse really means!
“Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:” Psalm 37:3-5
Yes, He will give us the desires of our heart, but that is conditional. We are to trust Him, do good, take delight in Him, and commit our ways to Him. When we live according to His will, he conforms the desires of our heart, or He helps us realize what our true heart’s desires really are. Then, we can be sure He will grant the deepest longings of our heart.
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 NIV
This verse helps us to understand that often, when we do not receive what we ask for, it is because we have asked with wrong motives.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7 KJV
Notice that this is conditional. Yes, we will have whatever we ask when we abide in Him, and His Words abide in us. That is because we will ask according to His will when our hearts are in line with His. We will know what to ask and how when we are saturated with His Word. Also, He is so pleased to bless us when we are obedient.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11 NIV
I had a difficult time reconciling this Scripture as well, but it makes so much sense now in light of everything we have studied so far. Yes, He does answer when we ask, but it will always be in His perfect way and His perfect timing. If we have not received it yet, it is either because we are not ready for it yet, or He has something better for us. His answers may be “Yes,” “No,” “Wait,” or “I have something even better than what you asked,” but you can be sure that He will answer.
As parents, we love to give good things to our children. How much more does our Heavenly Father love to lavish us with His good and perfect gifts? However, since He is infinitely wiser than we are, and He sees the big picture of our entire lives, He knows much better than we do about what is good for us. He also considers what fits into His entire plan. He will give us only good things, even if it does not look good to us at the present!
I do not want to forget to include this fact also that when we allow sin to fester in our hearts, or we maintain a firm grip on unforgiveness toward others, our prayers will not be heard. We must allow the Holy Spirit to check our hearts, and we need to readily confess our sins so that He can cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)
If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28:9 ESVBehold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 ESVIf I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened. Isaiah 66:18 ESV
I want to wrap up this study by considering these final verses. Read, mediate on, and internalize these Scriptures, and consider who this God is from who we tend to demand things. Be in awe of Him! Trust His sovereignty! And, while you are waiting for your answer, be sure to give Him all praise and thanks. Have faith that he will come through mightily for you!
“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! 2 Samuel 7:22 NLT
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 NIV“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says theLord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
Prayer…
Lord, you are awesome, and we bless your name! We may not always understand your ways, but we trust you with all our hearts. Thank you for helping us to understand your Word just a bit better today and for revealing truth by the Holy Spirit. We know that you want good gifts for us and that you know much better than we do what is best for us. We submit our wills to you and trust you for the best. Thank you for all that you have done for us and for all you will do. We praise you in front of the world and pray that you will help us live a life that displays your glory. We worship and honor you with all that is in us, and we love you with all our hearts. Amen
